The present invention relates to a switching assembly equipped with a display means for indicating a switching condition of the switching assembly.
A mechanical switch equipped with a lamp for indicating the switching condition of the mechanical switch is well known in the art. However, such a mechanical switch is not suited for a keyboard means, because the mechanical construction becomes complicated when a plurality of said mechanical switches are aligned on a single board. Moreover, such a mechanical switch requires a strong action of the operator to introduce information through said mechanical switch.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a switching assembly equipped with a display means installed behind the switching assembly.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a keyboard means which employs display means for indicating the switching conditions of the respective switching means incorporated within the keyboard means.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a switching assembly which is easy to handle and can indicate the switching condition thereof.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
To achieve the above objects, pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, contact patterns are formed on a glass substrate in a desired configuration through the use of thick film printing technique or evaporation technique. Information or a command is introduced into a system when the contact patterns are electrically connected with each other by the operator's finger. A display means made of, for example, a light-emitting diode is installed behind the glass substrate at the position corresponding to the contact patterns in such a manner as to indicate the opening and closing of the contact patterns.